Formaldehyde-urea molding composition



, Patented June 11, 1940.

UNITED STATES PATENT orrica FORMALDEHYDE-UREA MOLDING comrosrnon a David E. Cordier, Toledo, Ohio, assignor to Plaskon Company, Incorporated, Toledo, Ohio, a corporation of Delaware No Drawing. ApplicationAuguat 12, 1938', Serial No. 224,562

4 Claims. (oi. ecu-7 1) The invention relates to formaldehyde-urea molding compositions containing a latent accelerator or curing catalyst.

When a thermosetting' molding composition,

such as a formaldehyde-urea composition, is

molded under elevated pressure and temperature,

i the article is still hot, and an article molded from a thermoplastic composition cannot be re-,- moved from the mold until it has cooled and thus hardened sumciently so that it can be handled.

The length of time for which a molding composition must be left in the mold is one of the factors that determines the cost of articles molded from the composition. A composition that must be left in thernold twice as long as another composition .requires about twice as much molding equipment for the same volume of production, and hot-molding equipment is expensive.

Formaldehyde-urea molding compositions are thermosetting, but articles molded therefrom must be left in the heated mold for a short time after the article has become hard enough to be removed, in order that a resin of optimum prop erties may be produced. It has been found that curing the resin by keeping it at the molding temperature for the proper length of time'is required to bring out its optimum properties. There is of course a demand for formaldehyde-urea molding compositions for which a relatively short period of curing is necessary.

A latent accelerator in a formaldehyde-urea molding composition is an ingredient that accel- 'erates the curing of the composition without materially impairing its stability in storage at ordinary temperatures. True latent accelerators are very rare. They may be alkaline, neutral, or so slightly acid that they do not appreciably acidify a molding composition-when added thereto. It is believed that they are substances that break up or undergo molecular rearrangement to form acids, but do not do so until the molding temperature is reached. The acids so formed must 50 be strong enough to serve as catalysts that hasten the curing of the formaldehyde-urea res- Formaldehyde-urea molding compositions contain appreciable, moisture, and are frequently kept in storage for weeks at a time before being used. Many substances .that might be expected to decompose to form acids under molding conditions sufier the same decomposition within ,a few hours after being intimately mixed with a formaldehyde-urea composition, and are there- 8 fore not latent accelerators. Moreover, the be-' havior of a substance when present-asa minor ingredient in a molding composition and sub-' jected to molding pressures at the molding temperatures of 130 to 160 C. cannot be predicted 10 r from its behavior when subjected by itself to temperatures of 130 to 160 C. at atmospheric pressure. Most'of the potentially acid substances that do not impair the stability of a molding composition when incorporated therewith likewise' do not accelerate the curing of the composition in the mold. a

A substance that materially impairs the stability of a molding composition is a highly un-. desirable ingredient. The manufacturer of a go formaldehyde-urea molding composition must mold articles for various periods of time at vari-- ous temperatures and pressures and carefully test them to determine the molding conditions and curing time required to give the desired results. If a molding composition-contains an ingredient that materially impairs the stability of the composition, articles molded from the composition will be inferior, not only because the composition gradually deteriorates during storage, but also because the molding conditions required for producing articleswith the desired properties from batches of the composition that have been stored for various periods under various conditions are indeterminate. Although 'certain halogenated organic compounds that liberate hydrobromic and hydrochloric acid when heated have been known to act as latent accelerators when incorporated in formaldehyde-urea molding compositions, accel- 40 erators thatliberate organic acids are preferable to accelerators that liberate strong inorganic acids. Certain organic peroxides, such as benzoyl peroxide, have been used heretofore as latent accelerators, but there are many organic pigments 46 that cannot be used in a molding composition containing a peroxide. 1

The principal object of the invention is to provide formaldehyde-urea molding compositions containing novel latent accelerators. More spe-, 60

' ciilc objects and advantages are apparent from the description, which merely discloses and illustrates the invention and is not intended to impose limitations upon the claims.

e A molding composition embodying the inven- 'tion contains the ester of a monobasic organic acid with the oxime of an aliphatic ketone as a latent accelerator.

The preferred accelerators embodying the invention are acetoxime benzoate and acetoxime p-toiuene sulfonate A formaldehyde-urea molding composition of the usual type, consisting primarily of cellulosic material (40 to and a formaldehyde-urea reaction product, may be employed.

Example A dried formaldehyde-urea molding composition containing parts of alpha-cellulose fiber impregnated with 200 parts of a formaldehyde.- urea reaction product is ground in a ball mill together with 1 part of acetoxime p-toluene sulfonate. The customary modifiers, such as lubri-.

cants, opacifiers and coloring matter, may also be added to the ball mill. After an intimate mixture has been obtained in the form of a fine powder, it may be granulated or formed into pellets so that it can be used conveniently for charging molds. The molding is performed under a suitable pressure at a temperature of about C.

Various applicationsof the invention may be devised to meet various requirements. 4

Having described my invention, I claim:

1. A thermosetting molding composition comprising a formaldehyde-urea reaction product comprising acetoximebenzoate as a latent accel erator. i

4. A formaldehyde-urea molding composition comprising acetoxime p-tolucne sulfonate as an accelerator.

DAVID E. CORDIER. 

